Indicating mechanism for cash-registers



(No Model.) s sheets-sheet 1.

A. WHITE.

` INDIGATING MEGHANISM FOR CASH REGISTERS. No. 558,887. PatentedApr. 21, 1896.'v

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A. WHITE. INDIGATING MECHANISM POR CASH REGISTERS.

No. 558,887. A Patented Apr. 2l, 1896.

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(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

, A. WHITE. INDIGATING MBCHANISM FOB, CASH RBGISTBRS. No. 558,887. Patented Apr. l, 1896.

V/////// Eg UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

ALBERT XVIIITE, OF LOIVELL, MASSAOIIUSE'F-S, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE AS- SIGNMENTS, TO TIIE COLUMBIA CASH REGISTER COMPANY, OF PORT- LAND, MAINE.

INDICATING MECHANISIVI FOR CASH-REGISTERS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 558,887, dated April 21, 1896.

Application illed August 14, 1895. Serial No. 559,269. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom, t may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT WHITE, a citir/.en of the United States, residing at Lowell, in the county of Middlesex and Oommoir wealth of Massachusetts, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Cash- Indicators, of which the following is a specication.

My invention relates to cash-indicators;

1o and it consists in the devices and combinations hereinafter described and claimed, con1- prising means whereby the different tablets necessary to the indication of the amount of a single transaction may be displayed successively instead of simultaneously and without causing the previously-displayed tablets of the same indication to disappear, while at the same time the raising of any tablet will cause all the displayedl tablets of a previous 2o indication to disappear.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a vertical section on the line l l in Fig. 2 of the tablet-rod guides, the rods which serve as fulcrums for the keys, racks, and rack-dogs,

2 5 the movable locking-plate and front camplate formed in one piece with each other, and the stationary rear cam-plate, showing in side elevation a side of the frame, keys, racks,rack-dogs,tablets, tablet-carrying rods, tablet-actuating rods, locking-plate spring,

and sliding pins provided with heads; Fig. 2,

a front elevation of the tablets, their carrying and actuating rods provided with sliding pins, a part of the frame, including the tab- 3 5 let-rod guides, the locking-plate and its spring,

and some keys in vertical cross-section on the line 2 2 in Fig. l, the guides and locking-plate being broken, and said Fig. 2 representing parts of three sections of an indicator, Figs.

3 and i representing modifications of the locking-plate; Fig. 3, a front elevation of a locking-plate and front cam-plate formed in separate parts, the rear cam-plate, stop-plates, part of ihe frame, including the tablet-rod guides, and a leaf-spring to restore said locking-plate; Fig. 4, a vertical section on the line -i i in Fig. 3 of said guides and plates, a side elevation of the spring shown in Fig. 3, and of tablet-carrying and tablet-actuating 5o rods with headless pins 5 Fig. 5, a vertical sec tion of the locking-plate, cam-plates, guides, tablet-carrying and tablet-actuating rods,and swinging hooks instead of the pins shown in Fig. l; Fig. G, a vertical section of the guides, tablet-carrying and tablet actuating rods, locking-plate, and the front cam-plate, the rear cam-plate being omitted and the pins being held against the front cam -plate by springs on said rods, the sections in Figs. l,

si, 5, and being at right angles to the lock- 6o ing-plate.

A denotes the frame of the indicator; a a', horizontal cross-pieces, which form a part of said frame and serve to guide vertically the tablet-carrying-rods B; b, indicating-tablets bearing words or numbers corresponding to words or numbers on the keys O, said keys C turning on a horizontal fulcrum-rod c, supported in frame A, these parts being all of common construction except as hereinafter 7o stated.

Any usual means ot' preventing each key from commencing its return stroke before its operative stroke is completed may be used.

In Figs. l and 2 the rear ends of the keys C 75 are represented as provided each with a single tooth c', adapted to engage the teeth d of a curved rack D, pivoted at its upper end at d to the frame A in such a manner that the teeth d are normallyv held by the weight of said rack 8o in engagement with the tooth c or rear end of the corresponding key, and the teeth d of each rack D are hooked upward in such a manner that a partially-operated key is prevented from returning to its normal position until the 8 5 tooth c' of the key has passed all the teeth of the rack D, there being a rack D to each series of keys or section of the machine, and usually three such sections in a machine, indicating, respectively, dollars,dimes, and cents. Then 9o the tooth c' of a key has passed over a rack, said tooth strikes an incline d2, which throws said rack backward and beyond the rear end of a lever or dog E, pivoted at e on the frame A, which rear end, (the front end of said lcver,) being Weighted for that purpose at e, then rises in front of the lower end of said rack and holds the same out of engagement until said key at the completion of its return movement strikes and depresses said rear end roo of said dog E and allows said rack to swing forward.

Usually each tablet-carrying rod rests directly upon the rear arm of a pivoted key, like that shown in the drawings, er upon the rear arm of a lever worked bya slide, as shown in the Patent No. 80,(598, granted August i), 1892, to Jacques, and is raised by the depression of the Aliront arm of said key or lever, and each tablet carrying rod commonly has a shoulder, detent, or projection adapted and arranged in rising to strike and push aside a swinging or sliding locking-bar, which is immediately after drawn by a spring under said shoulder and holds up said tablet-rod until the locking-bar is again pushed aside by the shoulder of another rising tablet-rod. If the tablet-rods and their shoulders and the lockin g-bar are made with very great accuracy, the raising of one tablet will cause any previouslyraised tablet-rod to fall, but only while the parts are new and unworn, 0r equally worn, for as soon as one shoulder is worn a triile more than the others it will be too short to move the locking-bar sufficiently to release a previously-raised tablet-rod. lVhere two or more tablet-rods are raised at one indication and their shoulders are supported upon the loeking-bar, and it is desired to display only the tablet carried by one of them at the next indication, it is evident that the depression of the corresponding key can have no effect on the locking-rod without the use oi other meehanism than the previously-raised tablet-rod. It is therefore customary to use a mechanism operated by any key to moveaside the locking-bar to allow the displayed tablets to fall. I avoid the necessity for any such tablet-releasing mechanism common to all the keys by making two tablet-rods to each key C and tablet, one rod, B, Figs. l and 2, to which the tablet l) is secured, as above stated, in the usual manner, and another rod, B', which preferably raises the rod B and moves the lockingbar or locking-plate F to allow the displayed tablets to fall.

Each rod B B is provided with a pin b2 b3, sliding horizontally in a hole formed in such rod from front to back of the same and longer than the thickness of such rod, so that each pin at all times projects from the front or back of the corresponding` rod, and each pin h2 b3 is preferably provided with an enlarged head b4 b5 to limit the forward movement of said pin, the rods B B being arranged side by side in pairs and the rod B having preferably a lateral projection b, on which said rod B rests while being raised and when the tablet is undisplayed and the rod B resting directly upon the rear arm or" the lever or key C.

By making the rear end portion of the key broad enough, as shown at D in Fig. 2, the rods B B may both normally rest upon the key, and the projection b may be dispensedv with, the rod B being in this case increased in length by the distance from the top of a projection b to the lower end of the corresponding rod B.

The locking-plate F is represented in Figs.

l and 2 as formed in one piece with the front cam-plate G, the latter being convex vertically on its rear surface and straight horizontally, as shown in Fig. l, and the lockingplate above said plate G having backwardlyextending fingers f and below said plate G having other downwardlyextending vertical iingers f', having lateral inclines f2. The ends ot the fingers f and the greatest backward projection of the cam-plate G and the rear faces of the vertical lingers f lie in about the same vertical plane and in close proximity to the tablet-rods. Ears f3 fAl on the locking-plate F loosely surround guiderodsflf, supported horizontally in the frame A or in plates a2 a3, secured bybolts or screws a" a5 to said frame to enable said lockingplate to have an endwise motion on said guiderods in one direction, when the pins b3 in rising strike against the inclines f2 and, subsequently, in the other direction, by the contraction of the spring fl, stretched between the frame or the plate as and a hook g, secured on said lliront cam-plate G.

.A stationary rear cam-plate Gr is secured to the frame of the machine and extends back of all the tablet-rods and has a central vertical portion g and upper and lower portions g2 g3, which are bent or inclined from said central portion, as shown in Fig. l, toward the tablet-rods, the upper portions g2 serving IOO to crowd the pins b2 forward at the last part of the upward movement et the rods B and the lower incline g3 pushing the pins b3 forward in the last part of the descent of the rods B'.

Then the front end of any keyis depressed, the two corresponding rods B B are raised. The pin h3 of the rod B (said pin at the beginning of the operative stroke of the key having its greatest forward projection) strikes the corresponding incline f2 and moves the locking-plate F endwise, (to the left in Fig. 2,) and rising above said incline f2 allows said locking-plate to be returned to normal position by the springff. The depression of the key also carries the pin b2 of the rod B above said locking-plate, the action of the upper ineline g2 en the head b4 or rear end of said pin b2 crowding the iront end of said pin b2 :forward over the corresponding linger f, so that when the key is let go said pin b2 rests upon the top of said linger f.

When it is desired to make another indication, another key is depressed and the cndwise movement of the locking-plate carries the finger f out from under the pin h2 of the previously-raised tablet-rod, allowing. the same to fall during the iirst part of the depression of the second key, said pin b2 being thrown backward by striking the front camplate G in its descent. The front cam-plate Gr also moves the pin b3 backward when the latter has risen above the iinger f and pre- IIO vents said last-named pin when descending from catching on the top or side of the finger The lower incline g3 of the rear cam-plate G throws the pin b3 forward when the rod B falls to its lowest position.

Vhen it is desired to raise more than one tablet for a single indication, the corresponding keys may be simultaneously operated in the usual manner, or when, owing to the distance apart of said keys, it is impossible to do this with one hand and only one hand is at liberty a key in each of two sections of the machine may be depressed one at a time or simultaneously, not fully, but until the pins b3 of the corresponding rod B have risen above the Fingers f of the locking-plate, and a key in the third section may then be fully depressed and let go, after which the operation of the Iirst two keys, one at a time or both together, may be completed without moving the locking-plate and without dropping the fully-raised tablet of the same indication. (See the two partially-raised tablets and the one fully-raised tablet in Fig. 2.)

Inasmuch as the first part of the movement of the key causes the locking-plate to release previously-raised tablets, it follows that a depression of the key corresponding to a raised tablet first drops and then raises again said tablet, and that where it is desired to raise only one or two of a larger group of tablets, raised at the next previous indication, the depression of the keys corresponding to the tablets to be a second time raised will release the others.

In Figs. l and 2 the front cam-plate is made in one with the locking-plate for convenience of construction merely, the endwise movement of said cam-plate serving no useful purpose.

In the modified form shown in Figs. 3 and 4 the 'front cam-plate G is stationary and has rl anges g4 g5, by means of which it is secured tothe sides of the fra-me. The pins bb', which serve the same purpose as the pins b2 b3 in Figs. l and 2, are without heads and are prevented from projecting too far forward by vertical stop-plates II ll, secured to the upper and lower guides a d', respectively. The upper and lower inclined parts of the locking-rod proper are secured to each other rigidly by strips f8 f, and the return movement of the locking-plate is caused by the resilience of a leaf-spring fw instead of by the contraction of the spiral spring f7. (Shown in Figs. l and 2.)

In Fig. 5 swinging T-shaped pieces bs b9 perform the same office as the pins b2 b3, above described, said pieces bs b9 being' pivoted at bw b on the sides of the rods B B and having slots Z112 Z113, through which pins 1) U5 are driven into the sides of said rods to limit the forward movement of the heads blhllof said pieces, the front and rear ends of said heads, respectively, being acted upon by the front and rear cam-plates G G just as the front ends or points and heads of the pins b2 b3 are.

In Fig. 6 the rear cam-plate is omitted, and pins b2 b3, like those shown in Fig. l, are thrown forward by leaf-springs g6 g7 and backward by the front cam-plate G.

Except as above stated the devices shown in Figs. 3 to G do not differ from correspond ing parts in Figs. l and 2.

The sliding-pins b2 b3, h6 b7 and swinging pieces b3 b9 are all detents.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination of a frame provided with guides, a movable tablet-holder, a series of keys, an equal series of indicating-tablets, and an equalseries of pairs of rods, each rod passing through said guides and each pair of rods being arranged to be raised by the operation of a corresponding key, one rod of each pair carrying one of said tablets and adapted to engage said tablet-holder and the other rod of the same pair being adapted to move said tablet-holder and to disengage the same from any previously-raised tabletcarrying rod, as and for th e purpose specified.

2. The combination of a frame provided with guides, a movable tablet-holder, a series of indicating-tablets, an equal series of keys, and an equal series of pairs of rods, each rod passing through said guides and each pair being operated by one of said keys, one rod of each pair carrying one of said tablets, and provided with a detent to engage said tabletholder to support its tablet, and the other rod of said pair being adapted to engage said tablet-holder and to move the same out of engagement with the detent of any previouslyraised tablet-carrying rod, as and for the purpose specified.

3. The combination of a movable tabletholder provided with inclines, as many indicating-tablets as there are inclines an equal number of keys, an equal series of pairs of rods, each pair being operated by one of said keys, one rod of each pair carrying one of said tablets and pro vided with a detent to engage said tablet-holder to support said tablet, and the other rod of the same pair having a detent, to engage said tablet-holder and move the same out of engagement with the detent of any previously-raised tablet-carrying rod, as and for the purpose specified.

4. The combination of a movable tabletholder provided with inclines, as many indicating-tablets as there are inclines an equal number of keys, an equal series of pairs of rods, each pair being operated by one of said keys, one rod of each pair carrying one of said tablets, and provided with a movable detent to engage said tablet-holder, and a cam to move the linger f which carries the detent of any raised tablet-carrying rod into engagement with said holder, the other rod of each pair having a movable detent to engage one of said inclines to move said holder out of engagement with the detent of any previouslyraised tablet-carrying rod, as and for the purpose specified.

`5. The combination of a frame provided IOO IIO

with guides, a movable tablet-holder, a series' of keys, an equalseries of indicating-tablets, and an equal series of pairs of rods, each rod passing through said guides and one rod of each pair carrying one of said tablets and adapted to be engaged by said tablet-holder and the other rod of said pair being` adapted to move said tablet-holder to release any previously-raised tablet-carrying rod and resting directly upon one of said keys and having a projection upon Which the other rod of the same pair normally rests, as and for the purpose specified.

G. The combination of a frame provided with guides, a movable tablet-holder, a series of keys, an equal series of indicating-tablets, and an equal series of pairs of rods, each rod passing through said guides and each ypair of rods being arranged to be raised by the operation of a corresponding key, one rod of each pair carrying one of said tablets and adapted to engage said tablet-holder and to be held up thereby, and the other rod of the same pair being adapted to disen gage said tablet-holder from any previously-raised tablet-carrying rod and to be restored to position When said key is let go, as and for the purpose specified.

7. The combination of a tablet-holder, tablet-rods having holes, pins or detents sliding in said holes, and a cam adapted to be struck by said pins, to cause said pins to engage said holder, as and for the purpose speciiied.

8. rlhe combination. of a tablet-holder, tablet-rods having holes, pins or detents sliding in said holes, and a cam adapted to be struck by said pins, to cause said pins to be thrown out of engagement with said holder, as and for the purpose specified.

In witness whereof I have signed this speciiication, in the presence of two attesting Witnesses, this 12th day of August, A. D. 1895.

ALBERT WHITE. fitnessesz ALBERT M. MOORE, GRACE E. HIBBERT. 

